ch 71 local government code counties

8/4/2019 Ch 71 Local Government Code Counties

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE

TITLE 3. ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT

SUBTITLE A. ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES

CHAPTER 71. CREATION OF COUNTIES

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 71.001. CORPORATE AND POLITICAL BODY. A county is a corporateand political body.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 71.002. PLACE FOR HOLDING TERMS OF COURTS IN NEW COUNTY BEFORECOUNTY SEAT IS DESIGNATED. Until the county seat of a new county is

established, the terms of the district, county, and commissioners courts ofthe county shall be held at the place designated by the commissioners court.


SUBCHAPTER B. ELECTION FOR DETACHMENT OR ATTACHMENT OF COUNTY TERRITORY

Sec. 71.011. APPLICATION AND ELECTION. (a) A part of a county maynot be detached from one county and attached to another county unless the

proposition for the change is approved by a majority of the voters in bothcounties as required by Article IX, Section 1, of the Texas Constitution.

(b) On the written application of at least 50 qualified voters of a

county, the county judge of the county shall order an election to considerdetaching from the county a part of its territory or to consider attaching tothe county a part of another county.

(c) The application must designate the part by a metes and bounds

description and must show:



(1) the number of acres contained within the part;

(2) the number of acres remaining in the county from which thepart is detached; and

(3) the distance on a direct line from the county seat of the

county from which the part is detached to the nearest point on the boundaryof the detached territory.

(d) The notice of the election must contain substantially the

information included in the application and the election order.


Sec. 71.012. ELECTION RESULTS. (a) The returns of each electionshall be made to the county judge of the county in which the election isheld.

(b) The county judge shall:

(1) estimate the vote;

(2) make duplicate statements of the estimate; and

(3) officially certify the statements.

(c) The county judge shall seal in an envelope one copy of thecertified statement and a certified copy of the voters' application for the

election. The judge shall write the judge's name across the seal of the

envelope and shall endorse the envelope as "Election returns of____________________ County." The judge shall send the material by mail or

other safe conveyance to the speaker of the house of representatives at theState Capitol so that the material will be received as early as practicableduring the next legislative session.


Sec. 71.013. SUBSEQUENT ELECTION. If the election is held in a

county and the proposition to detach part of the county is defeated at theelection, a subsequent election for the same purpose may not be ordered orheld within five years after the date of the initial election.




SUBCHAPTER C. ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES

Sec. 71.021. ATTACHMENT OF COUNTIES. (a) Until a new county islegally organized, the territory of the new county remains subject to thecounty from which it is taken.

(b) A legally organized county that, for any reason, loses its countyorganization is attached to the organized county whose county seat is closestto that of the disorganized county. The attachment is made for judicial and

surveying purposes and for the registration of a deed, mortgage, or otherinstrument that is required or permitted by law to be recorded. The

disorganized county remains attached until it is again legally organized.


Sec. 71.022. ESTABLISHMENT OF PRECINCTS. (a) If a new county is

established, the commissioners court of the county from which the largestpart of the territory of the new county is taken shall, not later than one

month before the date of the next scheduled general election:

(1) divide the new county into convenient precincts for theelection of justices of the peace and constables; and

(2) select convenient polling places in the new county.

(b) The commissioners court shall direct the county clerk to make a

record of its actions under this section and shall transmit a copy of thatrecord to the person who is elected county judge of the new county.


Sec. 71.023. ELECTION OF COUNTY OFFICERS. (a) Before one month

before the date of the next scheduled general election after a new county isestablished, the county judge of the county from which the new county istaken shall order an election for county officers to be held in the new

county on the general election day. The order shall specify the number ofprecincts, the precinct boundaries, and the officers to be elected in the newcounty.

(b) The county judge shall appoint a presiding officer to hold the

election at each designated place in the new county. Each presiding officer



shall hold the election in accordance with the state election laws and shall

make the returns to the county judge who ordered the election.

(c) The county judge shall open and examine the returns, issue

certificates of election to the persons elected, and approve the bonds of theelected officers.

(d) If the office of county judge is vacant, any two of the county

commissioners may perform the duties required of the county judge under thissection.


Sec. 71.024. ORGANIZATION OF ATTACHED COUNTY. On the written

petition of at least 75 qualified voters who are residents of a disorganized

county, the commissioners court of the county to which the disorganizedcounty is attached for judicial or other purposes shall legally organize the

county without delay in the manner provided by this subchapter for theorganization of new counties.


Sec. 71.025. DELIVERY TO NEW OFFICERS. The officers of a county from

which a new county has been created or to which a newly organized county hasbeen attached and all other persons who have in their possession books,

records, maps, or other property that belongs to the new county shall deliverthe material to the proper officers of the new county within five days afterthe date on which the new officers legally qualify.


SUBCHAPTER D. APPORTIONMENT OF COUNTY INDEBTEDNESS

Sec. 71.031. LIABILITY OF NEW COUNTY. (a) A new county is liablefor a proportionate share of the indebtedness of the county from which it was

created.

(b) The new county's liability is the amount that bears the same

ratio to the property value in the territory excised from the original countythat the total indebtedness of the original county at the time of the

creation of the new county bears to the total property value in the originalcounty, including the value of the property in the territory excised from the

original county.

(c) After organization of the new county, the commissioners court ofthe new county shall levy a tax on all property in the new county in order topay the proportionate share of the indebtedness at the same tax rate as that

set by the commissioners court of the original county for the payment of the

debt.




Sec. 71.032. SUIT TO ENFORCE PAYMENT OF LIABILITY. (a) A countyfrom which a new county has been created may sue to recover the new county'sshare of the original county's indebtedness. The suit may be brought in a

district court of either county.

(b) If a suit is brought to enforce payment of the indebtednesscreated by the original county or of the excised territory's proportionate

share of the indebtedness, the tax assessment rolls of the original countyfor the year in which the new county was created are conclusive evidence ofthe property remaining in the original county, the property in the excised

territory, and the value of that property as of the date of the creation ofthe new county. However, if the new county was organized and made assessment

rolls for the year in which it was created, those assessment rolls are

conclusive evidence of the property in the new county and the taxable valueof that property as of the date of the creation of the new county, and the

assessment rolls of the original county for that year are conclusive evidenceof the property remaining in the original county and the value of that

property as of the date of the creation of the new county.


Sec. 71.033. TAX TO PAY INDEBTEDNESS. (a) If the original county

recovers in a suit brought under Section 71.032(a), the court that rendersthe judgment shall order the commissioners court of the newly created county

to levy a special tax on all the property in the territory taken from theoriginal county in an amount that is sufficient to satisfy the judgment.

(b) If the first levy is insufficient to satisfy the judgment, thecommissioners court shall make annual levies until the judgment is satisfied.


Sec. 71.034. LIABILITY OF ATTACHED TERRITORY. (a) If a part of acounty is detached from a county and attached to another county, the attached

territory remains liable for its proportionate share of the indebtedness of

the county from which it was detached.

(b) The commissioners court of the county to which the territory is

attached shall levy a tax in the territory at a rate sufficient to pay theterritory's share of the indebtedness.




Sec. 71.035. COUNTY BONDS HELD BY SCHOOL FUND. (a) The comptrollerof public accounts shall apportion between a county and a new county createdfrom territory detached from the original county the bonds, and the coupons

due on those bonds, that are held by the permanent school fund if the bonds

were legally issued by the original county before the new county was created.The comptroller shall apportion the bonds and coupons in the manner provided

by law.

(b) The commissioners courts of the original county and the new

county shall levy a tax at a rate sufficient to pay each county'sproportionate share of the bond debt.


ch 71 local government code counties

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